Marvel Mystery Comics #28
The Poison Pill Suicides
The Human Torch and Toro are invited to be the guests of honor at the Coney Island Mardi Gras parade. Accepting the invention, and during the festivities they witnessed a man kill the two organizers. When attempting to apprehend the killer, they are shocked when the killer suddenly swallows a poison pill out of fear over his failure. When they check his victims, the only survivor warns the Torch and Toro of smugglers before dying. Investigating further, the two heroes notice that on the Coney Island parachute ride one of the occupants is not diving down but staying stationary and watching the nearby cove through binoculars. They notice that their cart is suddenly dropped without a parachute. Avoiding a death with their flame powers, the two fire-bugs attempt to capture the man watching. However, to avoid the capture the man jumps to his death.
Suspecting the ride operator was involved, they chase him into the fun house eventually following the fleeing man into the basement. There they find that they are barred by a closed door. On the other side, the main employer - a smuggler named Izan - punishes him for his failure: placing a glass dome over the man's head, Izan then fills it with water to watch him drown. Detecting the Torch and Toro outside, Izan floods the outside room before they can melt through the door. Flying above the rising water, the two heroes increase their heat to evaporate the water and melt the water pipes shut before smashing through into the other room. There they find that Izan has fled the scene. Finding a note pegged on his victim from Izan they are suddenly surprised when they are gassed. Weakened by the gas the Torch and Toro are placed in air tight cylinders to be dumped out at sea.
However, before the two heroes can be dumped into the ocean, the Torch notices that there is a leak in his cylinder. Reigniting his flame, he breaks free and fights off Izan's men, freeing Toro as Izan jumps into the water to try and escape. The Coast Guard soon arrives and captures Izan. With the entire gang captured, Izan's men all swallow their poison pills killing themselves. Ironically enough, Izan chokes at the last moment, realizing that he himself is afraid of death.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Toro
The Flying Dutchman
The passenger freighter "Black Cross" is bringing $8,000,000 in gold bullion being shipped from South America through the Caribbean Sea. Suddenly the appearance of a ghostly 18th Century Corvette appears and sinks the ship. With the ship sunk, a crew attempt to recover the sunken cargo, only to find that it has mysteriously disappeared.
With another shipment of gold scheduled, the Sub-Mariner decides to investigate the mystery of the ghost ship, swimming out to intercept the ship. When the ghost ship appears, it is not prepared for the freighter to be armed with cannons and it is forced to flee. Seeing it sink under the water, Namor follows after and is surprised to see that the ship is really attached to a submarine.
As it turns it out, the ship is piloted by a German pirate named Falkon, who is seeking to steal more gold. Coming to shore, Namor attempts to jump past some barbed wire, but miscalculates his jump and is knocked out by their electrical current. Taken prisoner before the Falkon, the pirate orders him placed in a nearby cave to be dealt with later. Among Falkon's crew is Baby Dean-McCarthy, the sister of Betty Dean, who recognizes the Sub-Mariner from pictures, but keeps her mouth shut. With another gold shipment reportedly going through Bishop's Cay, Falkon sends his minions, including Baby's husband Slug, to go and rob it while he deals with the spy.
Baby rushes off to free the Sub-Mariner, and tells him that she and her husband were forced to flee the United States when Slug had killed a man. On the run from the law, Baby and Slug got caught up with Falkon who threatened to turn them over to the authorities if they did not help. Namor agrees to take down Falkon's operation, but spare Slug's life if he can.
Namor swims out to the "ghost ship" just at is is engaging another freighter ship. Namor smashes the diving rudder on the sub and pulls Slug from the ship just as the freighter blasts it out of the water. After checking with the crew of the freighter he then brings Slug back to Falkon's island. There, Namor chokes Falkon to death, leaving Slug and Baby to leave the island and sort out the mess they have made of their life.
Recurring Characters
Sub-Mariner
The Soul Stealer
Dr. Igor Korbeau has invented a way to eliminate the human soul from the body, turning his people into his willing slaves. Using this device, Korbeau would gather an army of loyal scientists that there his rivals in the scientific community and force them to kill and steal more devices in his name. This effrontery to the natural order prompts the Vision to appear and try and stop him. Korbeau temporarily knocks out the Vision out with a poison gas, thinking it would kill the hero. It does not due to the Vision's nature, and he brings the bodies of the soulless scientists to the realm of "Land of Mad Silence" and demands the Guardian of the Spirit World to release the souls of the scientists.
The Guardian refuses, leading to a fight between the Vision and the Guardian. The Vision beats the Guardian into submission. In the aftermath of the battle the Guardian returns the souls of the scientists to their bodies. Returning to Earth, the Vision next confronts Korbeau again to stop him from continuing his practices. He catches the mad scientist as he is attempting to put the chief of police through the same process. In the ensuing struggle, the officer is shot dead, and the Vision is knocked out when Korbeau injects him with a needle.
Korbeau then places the Vision on the device to steal his soul, however the Vision breaks free and during the fight, tosses Korbeau out of a window sending him to his death.
Recurring Characters
Vision
The Green-Faced Man
Criminal Green-Face Reibel is being put on trial for murder by a gas of his own design. Assigned to cover the story for the Daily Press are Jeff Mace, Mary Morgan and Jack Casey. During the court trail, one of Green-Face's minions rigs a film projector loaded with evidence to spray Green-Face's toxic gas among the courtroom, allowing the crook to escape. Witnessing this, Jeff Mace slips away to change into the Patriot and try to stop him.
The fight takes them to the roof, where their fight lands Green-Face and the Patriot to fight on a giant statue of Justice. The Patriot knocks the Green-Face man off the statue, but the crook grabs an arm on the clock, but the Patriot jumps down and grabs the opposing arm and knocks the Green-Faced Man to fall down to his death. Slipping back into the courthouse, the Patriot changes back to his civilian guise where he is once more accused by Mary Morgan for being a coward in the face of danger.
Recurring Characters
Patriot, Mary Morgan, Jack Casey
The Case of the Deadly Letters
When Hollywood great Aubrey de Woode dies, the police presume that it was a suicide, however Terry Vance is not convinced. He believes that de Woode's nephew Gordon who was unemployed until he was recently hired to work props at the local movie studio. Terry, along with Deadline Dawson and Dr. Watson keep an eye on George by posing as extras in one of the movie productions.
Exchanging their clothes for a suit of armor and a bear costume, the two decide to stick by Gordon. But Gordon figures out their game when he spots Deadline's press pass hidden in his hat and flees the scene. Terry and Deadline chase after Gordon and follow him to a shed on the property of his late uncle's estate. It is a secret passage way back into the mansion. There they all overhear as the police question Aubrey's former butler who explains that Aubrey died when responding to fan mail after licking an envelope. When he tells the investigators that he is keeping the envelopes in his coat pocket, Gordon rushes to a secret panel that gives him access to the cloak room.
Terry, Deadline and Dr. Watson follow after and trip him up long enough for the police to nab Gordon in the act of stealing the evidence. After it is looked over by a police scientist it is determined that Gordon had coated them with Potassium Cyanide.
Recurring Characters
Terry Vance, Doctor Watson, Deadline Dawson
Strange Adventures in the Land of Nowhere
Jimmy Jupiter, an imaginative young boy is in for the treat of a lifetime when a pilot at the airport offers to take him for a ride in an airplane. Jimmy is so excited that he forgets to put on his seat belt. When the plane does a loop-de-loop Jimmy is thrown from the plane.
To Jimmy, it appears that he gets stuck in the clouds and finds himself in the land called Nowhere. Wanting to get back to Earth, he is told to go slide down a lamp post through a doorway by a long necked old woman. She tells him the only way back to Earth is through the Mountains of Wunt.
Going into a dark green forest, Jimmy is surprised to find that the trees can talk and they warn him of the dangerous dragon known as Wump-Jump. When the dragon comes to pick a fight with the boy, Jimmy tosses a twig at him, hurting the monster and making him cry. Realizing that Wump-Jump is just a bully he tries to cheer him up.
Jimmy wakes up to find that he had a bucket of water tossed on him by the pilot. The pilot tells him that his parachute deployed and he passed out while he was landing. Jimmy is unconvinced, and is sure that Nowhere really exists and hopes to visit there again one day.
Recurring Characters
Jimmy Jupiter, Wump Jump
Continuity Notes
This is the first appearance of the realm known as Nowhere. This and subsequent Jimmy Jupiter stories suggest that this magical realm is the figment of Jimmy’s imagination. However, as revealed in Captain America (Vol. 6) #1-4, Nowhere is actually another dimension that Jimmy somehow can access by sheer will. Everything in this realm is the manifestation of Jimmy’s imagination.
The Horror of the Haunted Cathedral
Nazi commander General Henchel has just lost an important battle on the Russo-German front. This would mean his death for failure upon his return to Germany, and his subordinates suggest that he commit suicide than to face the wrath of Hitler. Henchel decides to flee the war instead and gets a U-Boat to bring him to the United States. Getting to shore off the coast of Louisiana, Henchel seeks shelter in an abandoned 16th century cathedral. There he finds a skeleton sitting at an organ with a scroll in his hands. Taking the scroll, Henchel reads that whoever plays the organ would die and come back as a zombie and command an army of the undead. Playing the organ, Henchel is overpowered by a powerful gas that kills him and reanimates his corpse, and raises an army to do his bidding.
The Angel, who was exploring the cathedral, witnesses this and rushes to stop the army of the dead from going on a murder spree but falls through the rotten floorboards and falls into the dungeon. There he is told by a dead man that those undead soldiers were part of a 16th century curse when Spanish Conquistadores attacked the cathedral. The creature then whispers into the Angel's ear the only way to stop them.
By this time, Henchel has led the undead on a slaughter of a nearby town, prompting the government to send soldiers in to stop the violence. This fails as the soldiers are easily slain, and their commanding officer is captured by Henchel who takes him back to the cathedral to learn enemy secrets. There the Angel attacks Henchel and lights the parchment that told of the curse on fire. The destruction of this document causes the army of zombies to crumble to dust.
Surviving this fate, Henchel attempts to flee the scene, but in a battle against the Angel is thrown from the top of the cathedral. Going down to check on Henchel's body, the Angel finds that the fall had crushed his undead body ending his threat.
Recurring Characters
Angel, Nazis
